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Korean, foreign spouses can register birth of their baby without name length limit

Published: 24 Jun. 2025, 14:25 Updated: 24 Jun. 2025, 16:18

A newborn baby is being picked up by a nurse at a hospital in western Seoul on May 28. [NEWS1]

A Korean national and a foreign spouse have been allowed to register the birth of their baby in Korea without a limit on the baby's name length, according to the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Previously, names longer than five characters could only be registered if a child born to a foreign father and a Korean mother followed the father's surname and was registered in the father's national registry.

As the revision to the country's family registration regulations came into effect last Friday, children born to a Korean father and a foreign mother will also be able to register their names as listed in the mother's national registry, regardless of the length of their names and which surname they take.

As such, long names registered in a foreign registry, such as "Alexandria" or "Areumdaunjisu," can now be registered in Korea exactly as they appear.

The Supreme Court added that those who have already registered can submit additional documents to match the name listed in the foreign registry.

Korean names typically have three characters, usually consisting of a one-character surname, followed by a two-character given name.

Yonhap